Ecole Nationale des Chartes (ECN) - National School of Palaeography and Archival Studies

An
institution devoted to History and Heritage since 1821

The Ecole
nationale des chartes (National
School of Palaeography
and Archival Studies) is a university level institution (grande école) that prepares students in
the human and social sciences for careers in history related domains. It
contributes to the professional training of executives (chief archivists and
librarians, curators) who are responsible for preserving and making available
to researchers, France’s
cultural heritage, in the broadest sense. The École conducts research
activities in historical and literary subjects, which it makes available in the
form of online resources, printed publications and conferences.

The
École nationale des chartes was established at a time when the first
generation in France
influenced by the Romantic movement was rediscovering mediaeval culture. The
idea for the school having been conceived first by Napoleon,it was
created by an ordinance of Louis XVIII on 22 February 1821. The aim of the new
institution was to train young scholars capable of organising the documents
that had been collected as a result of revolutionary confiscations and thus to
rewrite national history. They were awarded a special degree, that of
“archiviste paléographe” (archivist palaeographer). This diploma was created in
1829.

The
curriculum was completely reorganized by the ordinance of 31 December 1846:
it added new subjects, extended the period of study to three years and
introduced a thesis to be defended at the end of the training period, giving
students an opportunity to prove their ability to conduct advanced research.

Thus the scholarly
foundations were laid which would make the École des chartes a leading
institution in historical research, contributing to progress in its methodology
that extended over half a century, and giving France archival methods that set
new standards in Europe. During the twentieth century, the institution has
adapted this legacy and devoted itself to the renewal of historical methods and
to the evolution of the management of cultural heritage, by expanding its
teaching methods in order to consider processes such as image analysis (history
of art, media history), and other history related domains like archaeology and
contemporary history. On site internships are an intricate part of these
teaching methods.

The
current priorities of the École nationale des chartes include the
development of digital technologies applied to historical research and heritage
studies, and the broadening of its base to include master students and adults
seeking courses in continuing education and, finally, the reinforcement of its
international initiatives, especially in Europe.

Curricula

- a two-year
track, or master’s degree in “history and new technologies” option.

The
“archiviste paléographe” degree

This track’s goal
is to provide, in the space of three years, specialized training in written,
graphic and architectural heritage, to students who will become civil servants.
The coursework in this track includes the completion of a thesis; after it has
been defended, the student earns the title of “archiviste paléographe”.

Access to this course is selective
and subject to the passing of a national competitive examination. The
first-year examination is open to graduates with the baccalauréat or an
equivalent degree, and consists of written and oral exams; the second-year
examination is open to holders of a bachelor’s degree who have never taken part
in the first-year tests, and includes both a review of the candidate’s academic
achievements and an admission interview. Preparatory classes in the humanities
that exist throughout France
prepare candidates for the first year entrance examination.

This track offers students the possibility of receiving a stipend from the French
Government as civil servants in training during their enrolment at the school,
(approx. 1200 euros/month). It also enables them to prepare for other prominent
positions in culture-related careers. Most students round off their École
nationale des chartes training with a further eighteen months at one of two
other institutions: the “Institut national du patrimoine”, which allows
students access to careers in archival work, or at the “École nationale
supérieure des sciences de l’information et des bibliothèques”, which leads to
careers in library science. Some students choose other training options offered
by the “Institut national du
patrimoine”: museums, archaeology, historical buildings, inventory (national
heritage census), or scientific, technical and natural heritage. Still others
turn to academic careers as university professors or researchers at the Centre
national de la recherche scientifique.

Foreign students may apply for the
complete “archiviste paléographe” curriculum. However they are not eligible for
the status of civil servants in training.

According to the terms of agreement between the École and several
universities, many classes of the “archiviste paléographe” curriculum are open to
external students and are acknowledged as part of their own curricula (mostly
master’s degrees in history).

Master’s
degree in " History and new technologies "

Two tracks make up this research oriented master’s degree :

- a “History” option, the coursework of which is partly external, and
conducted at the universities of Paris IV – Paris Sorbonne (four
specialisations) and Paris I –Panthéon Sorbonne (one specialisation);

The track in “New technologies applied to history”is aimed at students already
holding a bachelor’s degree. It includes two objectives: one offers future
doctoral students methodological training with a strong emphasis on the use of
digital technologies in their research activity; the other provides young
historians with assets for employment in multimedia professions, for instance
in website development for cultural heritage institutions.

General
overview of historical sources is taught over both semesters of M1 (First Year
Master’s degree). This overview includes selected classes within the option of
the “archiviste paléographe” degree. The schema allows students to benefit from
the educational experience of faculty members and assures pedagogical
coherence.

Discovery
of digital technologies takes place in M2. It is also open to students having
completed their M1 in another institution. Two options are thus offered in M2:

- one is clearly research-oriented;

- the other
is professionally oriented, and concentrates specifically the Web and software
development in cultural-heritage contexts.

This master’s
degree is offered in partnership with European universities which students can
attend as part of their training.

International opening

The École
nationale des chartes is part of the European space of higher
education and research. It supports student and faculty mobility and
develops educational opportunities
adapted to foreign students in cooperation with European higher education
institutions.

Semester-based
curricula and application of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) to all
courses available at the École nationale des chartes were set up in September
2005. This allows European students registered with the Erasmus programme to
have the training received at the École nationale des chartes acknowledged in
their own curricula. Several bilateral agreements have been made with major
European universities. The Erasmus application form is available on the
website.

European
faculty members can be granted guest stays to teach at the École
nationale des chartes. The Erasmus programme makes it possible to invite them
for short periods. The École also extends invitations to foreign teachers to
conduct classes and participate in research programmes for one whole month.

Continuing
education

The “History and heritage” cycle is aimed at people eager to broaden
their historical knowledge, whether at an elementary or advanced level, on subjects
such as palaeography, or cultural artefacts such as handwritten books, ancient
printed books or historical photographs. The seminars take place in the evening
or on Saturdays.

Several semi-annual courses included in the “archiviste paléographe”or master’s
degrees may be attended as continuing education courses by non-registered
students, with financial support from their employers.

The detailed list of
one-semester classes of the École nationale des chartes is available on
our website. The following examples illustrate a variety of possible
combinations in accordance to students’ individual interests:

-
Sources of mediaeval history: Latin and French
Palaeography, mediaeval archives and diplomatic, mediaeval Latin, Old French
and Occitan, history of civil and canonical law, mediaeval archaeology,
mediaeval art history...

-
Sources of modern and contemporary history: French
palaeography, archives and diplomatic, institutional history, business archives
and economic history, oral history, media history, history of technology,
modern and contemporary art history...

-
Printed books and media: history of the book in the
early modern and modern period, history of publishing in the 19th and 20th
centuries, modern and contemporary manuscripts, photography, audio-visual
documents...

-
History of art and archaeology: art history from the
Middle Ages to the present, archaeology, manuscript illumination and mediaeval
iconography, history of prints...

Teaching resources on-line

On
its website, the École nationale des chartes offers a variety of electronic
resources for public use, free of charge. Teaching aids contain documentary
dossiers which include facsimiles of historical documents, French translation
and commentaries of various kinds; they can be used to illustrate general
history classes or to introduce students to critical methods for investigating
historical sources. Extensive disciplinary bibliographies and training tools
are also available.

Research

Scientific priorities are in line with
the École’s fundamental calling: they aim to unite various subject fields and
to help in the implementation of the scholarly techniques that make it possible
to criticise, investigate and interpret historical source material, be it words, images still or animated, sounds,
objects, works of art or monuments. Particular attention is placed upon
methodological issues and the production of reference tools and critical
editions, from the Middle Ages to the present. Because it educates many
aspiring chief archivists and librarians, one of the major concerns of the
École nationale des chartes is to motivate students to reflect on the
constitution, preservation and transmission of cultural heritage, thus
considering books, records or monuments not as part of their professional
knowledge, but as products and evidence of cultural and social history.

Electronic and
printed publications

The
École’s publicationsillustrate
its variety of research interests. They include students’ theses and other
monographs, conference proceedings and other collective volumes. They also
offer tools for historians, namely books on the auxiliary sciences,
bibliographies, collections of documents and other source material.

Through
digital technology, the École’s website offers free tools for historical
research as well as published documents. Significant work has been undertaken
especially on the digital revival of late 19th-century editions of cartularies
from abbeys of the Ile-de-France
province, kept in the library. The work of faculty members and students is also
made available on line in the form of databases, e.g. on early-modern library
sales catalogues kept in Paris
libraries, or theses defended for the degree of “archiviste paléographe”.

The
library

The
ordinance of 31 December 1846, which reorganised the École des chartes after
it had moved to the premises of what was at the time France’s Archives, is the
first document that mentions its library, comprised of historical works and
collections of facsimiles. In 1897, the École moved to its current location in
the Sorbonne and the library collection was placed on the very shelves where it
thrives today.

Located
at the heart of the École, the library was always closely associated with its
teaching and research policy: the collections were centred on the subjects
taught, regular acquisitions being increased by several donations. The
arrangement of the library itself reflects the curriculum. Its main strength
lies in bibliography, palaeography and codicology, sources of French history,
Latin and Romance philology, legal history and archaeology; it focuses
primarily on the mediaeval period and France. Moreover, without claiming
to compete with other specialised libraries in their own fields, it provides
the essential tools and reference books for the modern and contemporary periods.
It is open not only to students and faculty members of the École but also to
other accredited readers.

The library has
become a centre of excellence in its field, unanimously acknowledged as
such: its collection contains over 150,000 volumes, including 2,500 periodical
titles and over 800 series. They have been made accessible to an ever growing
community of students and researchers. They are entirely referenced in its
catalogue, available on the École’s website, and in national union catalogues
such as the SUDOC gateway, thanks to its participation in national and
international networks.